Cell phone ban in schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I want to be able to reach my child. It’s not like they have pay phones. We’ve had issues where I needed to get my kid.

I think you should try to manage your anxiety. Phones should be put away during the school day. You are harming your kids education by your inability to set phone limits.

If you are so keen on limits, why don’t you take away your own kids phone? Don’t take my kids away.

Then I would have to parent and I'd rather the county does that for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a good question. They revised the policy 2 years ago, and from what I can tell it still gives a lot of discretion to teachers/schools. I could see why it would be hard for some teachers to assert themselves, when they and the kids know that they don't technically have to prohibit them from the classroom at all times. https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/press/index.aspx?pagetype=showrelease&id=13192

First of all, it is unfair to put the burden on teachers. Many rookie teachers feel uncomfortable enforcing it and some older teachers just don’t care and don’t bother enforcing it. This creates an uneven landscape in school which can be confusing for some students. Second, if teachers have to play cell phone police, 5-15 minutes of every class is wasted trying to get kids to put their phones away as there are always a few repeat offenders or kids who will argue about putting it away or insist that mom is about to call for an emergency, etc. Third, at my highschool, teachers have no backup from administrators or security. We are not allowed to send kids to the office and security will not do anything unless there is a fight in the classroom or someone is visibly intoxicated. We have also been told by the principal that we are not allowed to touch student cell phones or take them due to liability concerns. This means that if a kid refuses to put their phone away, there is almost nothing that we can do. Admin tell us to call home if a kid is non-compliant. I have called home and either the parent is non-responsive or they take their kid’s side and claim I am unfairly targeting their child. Sometimes the parent agrees with me and the kid is compliant for the next 3-4 days and then we repeat the entire cycle again. It is an exhausting and draining process that negatively affects teaching for the entire class

I don’t understand how changing the policy will fix any of that. The current policy allows you to ban them, but the problem is enforcing is time consuming and your admin doesn’t help. But changing the policy won’t magically give you someone in your class to enforce it, or change your admin, will it? The issue seems to be that admin isn’t supportive of teachers attempts to control students. Fix that.

🙄 I think the teacher’s point is obvious. By creating a cell phone ban, MCPS will be acknowledging that phones are a huge problem in schools. The expectation is that if they actually create the cell phone ban, there will be consequences that go along with it. Right now everyone knows that MCPS does not care. Administration at many schools is weak and scared of combative parents and students but if central office says this is a big issue and they lay out guidelines, then administrators are more likely to pay attention. This is not a problem that teachers can handle alone

Well, we live in America and they don't have the right to confiscate private property.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a good question. They revised the policy 2 years ago, and from what I can tell it still gives a lot of discretion to teachers/schools. I could see why it would be hard for some teachers to assert themselves, when they and the kids know that they don't technically have to prohibit them from the classroom at all times. https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/press/index.aspx?pagetype=showrelease&id=13192

First of all, it is unfair to put the burden on teachers. Many rookie teachers feel uncomfortable enforcing it and some older teachers just don’t care and don’t bother enforcing it. This creates an uneven landscape in school which can be confusing for some students. Second, if teachers have to play cell phone police, 5-15 minutes of every class is wasted trying to get kids to put their phones away as there are always a few repeat offenders or kids who will argue about putting it away or insist that mom is about to call for an emergency, etc. Third, at my highschool, teachers have no backup from administrators or security. We are not allowed to send kids to the office and security will not do anything unless there is a fight in the classroom or someone is visibly intoxicated. We have also been told by the principal that we are not allowed to touch student cell phones or take them due to liability concerns. This means that if a kid refuses to put their phone away, there is almost nothing that we can do. Admin tell us to call home if a kid is non-compliant. I have called home and either the parent is non-responsive or they take their kid’s side and claim I am unfairly targeting their child. Sometimes the parent agrees with me and the kid is compliant for the next 3-4 days and then we repeat the entire cycle again. It is an exhausting and draining process that negatively affects teaching for the entire class

I don’t understand how changing the policy will fix any of that. The current policy allows you to ban them, but the problem is enforcing is time consuming and your admin doesn’t help. But changing the policy won’t magically give you someone in your class to enforce it, or change your admin, will it? The issue seems to be that admin isn’t supportive of teachers attempts to control students. Fix that.

🙄 I think the teacher’s point is obvious. By creating a cell phone ban, MCPS will be acknowledging that phones are a huge problem in schools. The expectation is that if they actually create the cell phone ban, there will be consequences that go along with it. Right now everyone knows that MCPS does not care. Administration at many schools is weak and scared of combative parents and students but if central office says this is a big issue and they lay out guidelines, then administrators are more likely to pay attention. This is not a problem that teachers can handle alone

Maybe I didn’t make my point well but I jisit don’t think another ban is effective when the issue is enforcement and support for teachers. Vape pens are banned in school but no one actually takes them from kids. There are kids just hanging out in the bathroom smoking pot and they can’t stop that. So I’m trying to figure out how this ban would be at all different from the current policy of allowing teachers to ban them. They need a culture shift of rule enforcement before a ban has any meaning.

[Anonymous]

The honest truth? I just don’t trust MCPS in the year 2024 to keep my kids safe physically and emotionally in a variety of situations and emergencies, some of which are unlikely and others of which are decently likely. I felt differently when my kids were at the elementary school level.

I don’t text with my kids during class time or throughout the school day. I can acknowledge that some kids just can’t resist whipping out phones or playing games at inappropriate times. I think there is one teacher on this thread who is very charged up about this because she can’t manage her classrooms and thinks if only this phone issue were solved she’d be fine (I think she’d still have trouble).

But the bottom line for me is that I don’t think MCPS has protocols and procedures tight enough and part of it stems from students who attend the schools themselves who are a danger to their peers and should have a better placement for their needs. Part of it stems from administrators needing to make safety decisions and also communication decisions and central office spinning everything poorly. I feel like my kids need a line of communication for emergencies I hope won’t happen.

[Anonymous]

There is a teacher shortage bc teachers are tired of addicted students cussing and fighting teachers over phones. Also we are tired and willing to walk away from admin who bully us when we try our best to deal with a societal dillema.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a good question. They revised the policy 2 years ago, and from what I can tell it still gives a lot of discretion to teachers/schools. I could see why it would be hard for some teachers to assert themselves, when they and the kids know that they don't technically have to prohibit them from the classroom at all times. https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/press/index.aspx?pagetype=showrelease&id=13192

First of all, it is unfair to put the burden on teachers. Many rookie teachers feel uncomfortable enforcing it and some older teachers just don’t care and don’t bother enforcing it. This creates an uneven landscape in school which can be confusing for some students. Second, if teachers have to play cell phone police, 5-15 minutes of every class is wasted trying to get kids to put their phones away as there are always a few repeat offenders or kids who will argue about putting it away or insist that mom is about to call for an emergency, etc. Third, at my highschool, teachers have no backup from administrators or security. We are not allowed to send kids to the office and security will not do anything unless there is a fight in the classroom or someone is visibly intoxicated. We have also been told by the principal that we are not allowed to touch student cell phones or take them due to liability concerns. This means that if a kid refuses to put their phone away, there is almost nothing that we can do. Admin tell us to call home if a kid is non-compliant. I have called home and either the parent is non-responsive or they take their kid’s side and claim I am unfairly targeting their child. Sometimes the parent agrees with me and the kid is compliant for the next 3-4 days and then we repeat the entire cycle again. It is an exhausting and draining process that negatively affects teaching for the entire class

I don’t understand how changing the policy will fix any of that. The current policy allows you to ban them, but the problem is enforcing is time consuming and your admin doesn’t help. But changing the policy won’t magically give you someone in your class to enforce it, or change your admin, will it? The issue seems to be that admin isn’t supportive of teachers attempts to control students. Fix that.

🙄 I think the teacher’s point is obvious. By creating a cell phone ban, MCPS will be acknowledging that phones are a huge problem in schools. The expectation is that if they actually create the cell phone ban, there will be consequences that go along with it. Right now everyone knows that MCPS does not care. Administration at many schools is weak and scared of combative parents and students but if central office says this is a big issue and they lay out guidelines, then administrators are more likely to pay attention. This is not a problem that teachers can handle alone

Well, we live in America and they don't have the right to confiscate private property.

Sure schools can collect phones for parental pickup. It's in the student code of conduct they all sign at the beginning of the year.

[Anonymous]

Yonder pouches are not perfect. The kids figure out how to open them with strong magnets. Or they bring burner phones to hand over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yonder pouches are not perfect. The kids figure out how to open them with strong magnets. Or they bring burner phones to hand over.

No system is perfect. Heck, we have laws of all kinds but people break them. Doesn't mean we shouldn't try something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a good question. They revised the policy 2 years ago, and from what I can tell it still gives a lot of discretion to teachers/schools. I could see why it would be hard for some teachers to assert themselves, when they and the kids know that they don't technically have to prohibit them from the classroom at all times. https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/press/index.aspx?pagetype=showrelease&id=13192

First of all, it is unfair to put the burden on teachers. Many rookie teachers feel uncomfortable enforcing it and some older teachers just don’t care and don’t bother enforcing it. This creates an uneven landscape in school which can be confusing for some students. Second, if teachers have to play cell phone police, 5-15 minutes of every class is wasted trying to get kids to put their phones away as there are always a few repeat offenders or kids who will argue about putting it away or insist that mom is about to call for an emergency, etc. Third, at my highschool, teachers have no backup from administrators or security. We are not allowed to send kids to the office and security will not do anything unless there is a fight in the classroom or someone is visibly intoxicated. We have also been told by the principal that we are not allowed to touch student cell phones or take them due to liability concerns. This means that if a kid refuses to put their phone away, there is almost nothing that we can do. Admin tell us to call home if a kid is non-compliant. I have called home and either the parent is non-responsive or they take their kid’s side and claim I am unfairly targeting their child. Sometimes the parent agrees with me and the kid is compliant for the next 3-4 days and then we repeat the entire cycle again. It is an exhausting and draining process that negatively affects teaching for the entire class

I don’t understand how changing the policy will fix any of that. The current policy allows you to ban them, but the problem is enforcing is time consuming and your admin doesn’t help. But changing the policy won’t magically give you someone in your class to enforce it, or change your admin, will it? The issue seems to be that admin isn’t supportive of teachers attempts to control students. Fix that.

🙄 I think the teacher’s point is obvious. By creating a cell phone ban, MCPS will be acknowledging that phones are a huge problem in schools. The expectation is that if they actually create the cell phone ban, there will be consequences that go along with it. Right now everyone knows that MCPS does not care. Administration at many schools is weak and scared of combative parents and students but if central office says this is a big issue and they lay out guidelines, then administrators are more likely to pay attention. This is not a problem that teachers can handle alone

Well, we live in America and they don't have the right to confiscate private property.

Sure schools can collect phones for parental pickup. It's in the student code of conduct they all sign at the beginning of the year.

You can't force minors to agree to this. They are still entitled to a public education.

I know if they took my cellphone I'd press charges for theft. It's probably not a minor crime either since it cost over $1k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I want to be able to reach my child. It’s not like they have pay phones. We’ve had issues where I needed to get my kid.

You can reach your child. You call the front office. You ask to have your child brought down to talk to them. Or, if you need to come pick your kid, you let the school know and they'll communicate that.

Your anxiety and/or entitlement are your problem. Adolescents having unlimited access to cellphones is an enormous societal problem - but it's one we can actually do something about.

Its not the secretary's job and there are 2600 students. That's not reasonable.

You are entitled and have anxiety. You also want others to parent your kids for you. You are on your phone complaining. Bizzare.

1. Yes, it literally is the secretary’s job.
2. It happens rarely, so can easily be handled over the course of a day.
3. The bolded is one of the clearest examples of projection I have ever seen, and that’s saying something.

No it’s not the secretary’s job. Maybe for elementary but not for high school.

My child’s schedule for band and theater regularly changes so they need to call several times per week or more and what happens if the pick up time changes and the office is closed after hours. And, with sports, one off campus that’s another massive coordination. If your kids are in no activities, maybe but we had pay phones growing up. They don’t now and they cannot text or call on school laptops.

So, uninvolved parent done of our kids do need phones to coordinate rides for themselves and your kids whom we drive because you will not.

Calm down. It’s amazing how little confidence you have in your own teenagers ability to survive without a phone during the school day. It’s almost as if you have failed to allow them to develop to be a competent human being unable to handle anything without their parent.

Let me guess you don’t have to drive your kids to school or I am driving them. If plans change I expect a text.

Are you always such a black and white thinker? The point is that cell phones should not be accessible during the school day. If something changes regarding an after school activity, your child can text you after school. If an activity is canceled, I’m sure the child can ask permission to text parent or can ask to use the teacher’s phone or send you an email. No one wants your child stranded at school without a ride.
There are common sense exceptions to every policy

It’s not appropriate to ask to use a teachers phone and they cannot email from mcps computers. Changes are pretty frequent. I have to get my kid from school so if they are late I don’t want to spend 30 plus minutes in line waiting. My child would be stranded a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a good question. They revised the policy 2 years ago, and from what I can tell it still gives a lot of discretion to teachers/schools. I could see why it would be hard for some teachers to assert themselves, when they and the kids know that they don't technically have to prohibit them from the classroom at all times. https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/press/index.aspx?pagetype=showrelease&id=13192

First of all, it is unfair to put the burden on teachers. Many rookie teachers feel uncomfortable enforcing it and some older teachers just don’t care and don’t bother enforcing it. This creates an uneven landscape in school which can be confusing for some students. Second, if teachers have to play cell phone police, 5-15 minutes of every class is wasted trying to get kids to put their phones away as there are always a few repeat offenders or kids who will argue about putting it away or insist that mom is about to call for an emergency, etc. Third, at my highschool, teachers have no backup from administrators or security. We are not allowed to send kids to the office and security will not do anything unless there is a fight in the classroom or someone is visibly intoxicated. We have also been told by the principal that we are not allowed to touch student cell phones or take them due to liability concerns. This means that if a kid refuses to put their phone away, there is almost nothing that we can do. Admin tell us to call home if a kid is non-compliant. I have called home and either the parent is non-responsive or they take their kid’s side and claim I am unfairly targeting their child. Sometimes the parent agrees with me and the kid is compliant for the next 3-4 days and then we repeat the entire cycle again. It is an exhausting and draining process that negatively affects teaching for the entire class

I don’t understand how changing the policy will fix any of that. The current policy allows you to ban them, but the problem is enforcing is time consuming and your admin doesn’t help. But changing the policy won’t magically give you someone in your class to enforce it, or change your admin, will it? The issue seems to be that admin isn’t supportive of teachers attempts to control students. Fix that.

🙄 I think the teacher’s point is obvious. By creating a cell phone ban, MCPS will be acknowledging that phones are a huge problem in schools. The expectation is that if they actually create the cell phone ban, there will be consequences that go along with it. Right now everyone knows that MCPS does not care. Administration at many schools is weak and scared of combative parents and students but if central office says this is a big issue and they lay out guidelines, then administrators are more likely to pay attention. This is not a problem that teachers can handle alone

Well, we live in America and they don't have the right to confiscate private property.

Sure schools can collect phones for parental pickup. It's in the student code of conduct they all sign at the beginning of the year.

You can't force minors to agree to this. They are still entitled to a public education.

I know if they took my cellphone I'd press charges for theft. It's probably not a minor crime either since it cost over $1k.

Yes you can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a good question. They revised the policy 2 years ago, and from what I can tell it still gives a lot of discretion to teachers/schools. I could see why it would be hard for some teachers to assert themselves, when they and the kids know that they don't technically have to prohibit them from the classroom at all times. https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/press/index.aspx?pagetype=showrelease&id=13192

First of all, it is unfair to put the burden on teachers. Many rookie teachers feel uncomfortable enforcing it and some older teachers just don’t care and don’t bother enforcing it. This creates an uneven landscape in school which can be confusing for some students. Second, if teachers have to play cell phone police, 5-15 minutes of every class is wasted trying to get kids to put their phones away as there are always a few repeat offenders or kids who will argue about putting it away or insist that mom is about to call for an emergency, etc. Third, at my highschool, teachers have no backup from administrators or security. We are not allowed to send kids to the office and security will not do anything unless there is a fight in the classroom or someone is visibly intoxicated. We have also been told by the principal that we are not allowed to touch student cell phones or take them due to liability concerns. This means that if a kid refuses to put their phone away, there is almost nothing that we can do. Admin tell us to call home if a kid is non-compliant. I have called home and either the parent is non-responsive or they take their kid’s side and claim I am unfairly targeting their child. Sometimes the parent agrees with me and the kid is compliant for the next 3-4 days and then we repeat the entire cycle again. It is an exhausting and draining process that negatively affects teaching for the entire class

I don’t understand how changing the policy will fix any of that. The current policy allows you to ban them, but the problem is enforcing is time consuming and your admin doesn’t help. But changing the policy won’t magically give you someone in your class to enforce it, or change your admin, will it? The issue seems to be that admin isn’t supportive of teachers attempts to control students. Fix that.

🙄 I think the teacher’s point is obvious. By creating a cell phone ban, MCPS will be acknowledging that phones are a huge problem in schools. The expectation is that if they actually create the cell phone ban, there will be consequences that go along with it. Right now everyone knows that MCPS does not care. Administration at many schools is weak and scared of combative parents and students but if central office says this is a big issue and they lay out guidelines, then administrators are more likely to pay attention. This is not a problem that teachers can handle alone

Well, we live in America and they don't have the right to confiscate private property.

Sure schools can collect phones for parental pickup. It's in the student code of conduct they all sign at the beginning of the year.

You can't force minors to agree to this. They are still entitled to a public education.

I know if they took my cellphone I'd press charges for theft. It's probably not a minor crime either since it cost over $1k.

You are sending your kid to a public school with a $1k or more phone. That’s rich.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a good question. They revised the policy 2 years ago, and from what I can tell it still gives a lot of discretion to teachers/schools. I could see why it would be hard for some teachers to assert themselves, when they and the kids know that they don't technically have to prohibit them from the classroom at all times. https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/press/index.aspx?pagetype=showrelease&id=13192

First of all, it is unfair to put the burden on teachers. Many rookie teachers feel uncomfortable enforcing it and some older teachers just don’t care and don’t bother enforcing it. This creates an uneven landscape in school which can be confusing for some students. Second, if teachers have to play cell phone police, 5-15 minutes of every class is wasted trying to get kids to put their phones away as there are always a few repeat offenders or kids who will argue about putting it away or insist that mom is about to call for an emergency, etc. Third, at my highschool, teachers have no backup from administrators or security. We are not allowed to send kids to the office and security will not do anything unless there is a fight in the classroom or someone is visibly intoxicated. We have also been told by the principal that we are not allowed to touch student cell phones or take them due to liability concerns. This means that if a kid refuses to put their phone away, there is almost nothing that we can do. Admin tell us to call home if a kid is non-compliant. I have called home and either the parent is non-responsive or they take their kid’s side and claim I am unfairly targeting their child. Sometimes the parent agrees with me and the kid is compliant for the next 3-4 days and then we repeat the entire cycle again. It is an exhausting and draining process that negatively affects teaching for the entire class

I don’t understand how changing the policy will fix any of that. The current policy allows you to ban them, but the problem is enforcing is time consuming and your admin doesn’t help. But changing the policy won’t magically give you someone in your class to enforce it, or change your admin, will it? The issue seems to be that admin isn’t supportive of teachers attempts to control students. Fix that.

🙄 I think the teacher’s point is obvious. By creating a cell phone ban, MCPS will be acknowledging that phones are a huge problem in schools. The expectation is that if they actually create the cell phone ban, there will be consequences that go along with it. Right now everyone knows that MCPS does not care. Administration at many schools is weak and scared of combative parents and students but if central office says this is a big issue and they lay out guidelines, then administrators are more likely to pay attention. This is not a problem that teachers can handle alone

Maybe I didn’t make my point well but I jisit don’t think another ban is effective when the issue is enforcement and support for teachers. Vape pens are banned in school but no one actually takes them from kids. There are kids just hanging out in the bathroom smoking pot and they can’t stop that. So I’m trying to figure out how this ban would be at all different from the current policy of allowing teachers to ban them. They need a culture shift of rule enforcement before a ban has any meaning.

They need to bring back detentions, suspension and expulsions.

[Anonymous]

Can i just throw into the mix that my kid (diabetic) actually does NEED access to the phone all day?

i agree in principle, but then there will be exceptions and that will make enforcement even harder.

I’m all for taking enforcement out of the teachers hands so that they can teach in peace, but just wanted to mention that before you have any kids with phones suspended for the rest of their lives, there may be some exceptions necessary. I just mention it because it’s kind of actually critical for my kid to have the phone attached to his body and accessible. If there was a crackdown and his phone was taken, it actually creates a dangerous situation for him.

Then i worry that this one exception would open the door for all sorts of parent drama…. His phone is actually considered a medical device and i think trying to prevent access would bring up legal issues and ADA issues.

[Anonymous]

1. Start by signing this petition: https://www.change.org/p/phone-free-dmv-schools?source_location=psf_petitions&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2hhCCPP6a-GFd2S1JKfDbJDLkOu7sa_MIeRH4H3y5JoNj_8P7AyLjeaJs_aem_9xfR3lLpnly7Fj_7f0uM5g

2. Circulate the petition. Tell your school and your PTA that you support phone free schools. That means phones away, all day, and if the students don’t follow the rule, the phone is taken away or locked up.

3. Look out for MCCPTA Advocacy Priorities and a possible resolution. PTA Presidents and Delegates would get to vote before MCCPTA as a whole can take a position. Make sure your PTAs know if you support phone free schools.

4. Email the BOE members and the new Superintendent, and cc your County Councilmembers and State Senators and Reps, because there are potential Council or State bills that could be passed.

5. In the meantime, don’t wait for County action. Ask your principal to adopt a phone free policy then enforce it. Help by educating families at Back to School about how to control their child’s screentime. Don’t give your kid a smartphone - use a flip phone, brick phone, smart watch. Or activate Iphone Screentime or Google Family Link on your kids’ phone so you can monitor screentime on their devices and block phone use during school hours - which you can also remotely unblock in an emergency. (But understand that in a shooter situation, texting or calling your child could put them in danger by alerting a shooter to their location).

Copy, paste and circulate.